


We'll Be Just Fine

by XtaticPearl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Baby Avengers, Domestic Avengers, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Avengers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 09:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9116143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: The Avengers are de-aged again and it falls on Tony & Steve's shoulders to take care of them. Turns out, they're doing just fine with it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Riverlander974](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riverlander974/gifts).



Tony has exactly seven seconds to understand what’s happening before he has a chestful of dirty blond hair and scrawny limbs trying to climb his torso.

“Wai-wha-Clint?” he blinked and leaned back a bit to avoid getting the blond hair in his mouth, smoothing it back with one hand while steadying the kid with the other, “Hey, buddy, what’s wrong? Hey, hey, it’s okay, whatever it is, we’ll make it right, okay?”

The boy simply shook his head against Tony’s chest and clung even tighter when Tony hummed sympathetically before rubbing calming circles into the boy’s back.

Pushing the sheets tangled between his legs, Tony maneuvered till he could drag the thin top sheet over both himself and the still stubbornly silent kid lying on his chest.

“Wanna talk about it?” he whispered after moments of quiet humming to soothe the agitated boy. Clint shook his head but was less tense, with the constant soothing touch and warmth helping a bit.

“M’kay,” Tony hummed and let the boy cuddle him in silence, placing soft kisses to the head of the boy who simply burrowed himself closer into the genius’ chest and sighed, as though he had been spared some great burden.

Tony hummed an old song from his mother’s memories as he absently stared up at the ceiling and wondered for the twentieth time that day about the weirdness levels of being an Avenger. Then his thoughts shifted to the weirdness levels involved in having the Enchantress as a stalker and he mentally winced for Thor. It had been an eventful result to an uneventful fight with the fascinating Asgardian, and six hours later Tony still couldn’t quite comprehend that he had a bunch of kid Avengers running around in the Tower. 

Well, hopefully not literally running around at the moment, he thought as he quickly glanced to the clock on the wall beside and noted that it was well past midnight. He knew that Steve was with monitoring a slightly withdrawn kid Bucky and the wary Maximoff twin kiddos. It was Bruce, Sam and Thor he was worried about but he figured that if Rhodey could mind Tony’s cranky ass at MIT, he could mind three unusual but adorably curious kids too. 

He looked to his side and noted with relief that the mop of bright red hair hadn’t woken up from the hard-won sleep and gently turned to his side, coaxing a sleepy Clint with incoherent mumbles till he could gather both the clinging boy and the sleeping toddler Natasha into his arms.

“Mhfm?” Clint mumbled against Tony’s t-shirt but the genius simply dropped a kiss to his hair and cuddled closer.

“Go to sleep, puppy,” he whispered and smiled softly when he felt the boy sigh again, letting sleep take over.

—

“Really,” Tony said dryly as he deftly dodged Sam’s gesticulating hands that were trying to grab the bowl out of Tony’s hands, “Really, you thought brussel sprouts was a good idea. With Thor.”

Steve for his part looked a bit abashed even as he gently rocked a silent but wide-eyed Wanda, rubbing her back.

“In hindsight, it might have been a bad idea,” Steve offered and Tony spared him a quick look before wiping the messy papaya around Sam’s mouth.

“Tell that to Rhodey,” Tony quipped, biting back a laugh even as Steve’s eyes crinkled at the corners, “I cannot ever stop calling him Sprout Head now.”

“To- _ny_ ,” a whine reached them and Tony looked down to see a pouting Bucky pulling Tony’s t-shirt.

“Yes, teddy bear?” Tony asked bopping Sam’s nose when the younger kid babbled incessantly before looking at Bucky patiently.

“Up,” Bucky said firmly and Tony raised an eyebrow even as he bit his cheek at the determined look.

“Uh-uh,” Tony hummed and wiped Sam’s nose when he somehow managed to smudge food onto his face, “Didn’t you just have your sandwiches, Bucky bear?”

Bucky looked at Sam, sitting atop the table and then looked back at Tony, face falling a bit and lip dangerously quivering.

“Oh buddy,” Tony sighed and placed the bowl aside before leaning down and scooping Bucky up, smacking exaggerated kisses all over his face till the shy boy was giggling a bit, “You just wanna sit with us?”

“Uh-huh,” Bucky nodded and rested his head on Tony’s shoulder, looking at Sam curiously from his seat on Tony’s hip.

“Okay,” Tony agreed and pressed one last kiss to the boy’s cheek before placing him on the table beside Sam, “But no disturbing Sammy, okay tesoro?”

“Yes” Bucky nodded and Tony patted his head, feeling a soft grin find its way onto his face when the boy leaned into the casual touch a bit. 

When he looked up, he found Steve’s eyes and rolled his eyes fondly at the slightly cheeky but proud grin on his Captain’s face.

Thankfully Wanda chose the exact minute to chew Steve’s ear and Tony got to laugh instead of dwelling on the sappy moment.

Between chasing the kids around to get them fed, playing till their sugar rush wore down and tucking them in for the afternoon naps, both Tony and Steve were ready to collapse into a boneless slumber, Rhodey having smartly taken up nap-sitting duty.

“Ugh, I’m done,” Tony groaned as he snuggled tiredly under Steve’s arm on the couch, resting his head on the other man’s shoulder heavily, “I am so done.”

Steve mumbled an incoherent agreement as he absently dragged Tony closer, both of them ready to catch a quick nap themselves. It was much deserved. it was much needed.

It was definitely denied.

A loud crash from behind them got both of them jumping up, Steve getting into battle stance and Tony getting ready to call the armor.

A pair of wide and distressed brown eyes blinked at them from the kitchen.

“Bruce?” Tony called out and immediately became even more alert when the young boy flinched and took a step back, seemingly hunching into himself.

“I didn’t-I just-sorry I -” the boy fumbled with his words and Tony noted with clarity that there was a broken jar of cookies on the floor but more importantly, Bruce was shaking.

“Wait!” Tony called out without thinking and Bruce froze mid-step, _shrinking_  into himself with body taut with fear. Tony cursed himself internally but didn’t waste time as he quickly strode around the couch and walked into the kitchen, moving till he was at a safe distance from the shaking boy.

“Bruce?” he said softly and didn’t move till Bruce looked up with wet eyes and shaking hands, “Honey, there’s glass all around, okay? If you walk, you’ll get hurt. You’re not wearing slippers, see? Do you mind if I lift you away from here? I promise I’ll just get you out of the glass area and that’s it, okay honey?”

“I’m sorry,” Bruce sounded miserable and Tony felt his heart clench even as he remembered rumors about Brian Banner.

“Hey, buddy, no big deal,” he said with an open smile and spread his arms slowly, projecting every movement, “We all love cookies. I’m so sorry we kept them in a glass jar. That was pretty silly of us, wasn’t it? We’ll clear up all this and get new cookies, okay kiddo?”

“You-” Bruce hiccuped and bit his lip, blinking rapidly, “You’re not mad?”

“Of course not, Brucie-pie,” Tony said immediately with a grin and crouched a bit, “I’m not mad at all. It’s just cookies, honey. Why would I ever be mad at my Brucie-pie because of some cookies? No reason.”

Bruce didn’t nod but looked down at the glass around him and Tony caught him grow miserable again.

“Hey, hey, kiddo, it’s not your fault, okay?” he said gently and offered his arms quietly, “I promise, this is not your fault and nobody’s mad. Okay, darling?”

Bruce looked at Tony for a minute before nodding jerkily.

“Can I lift you now, buddy?” Tony asked softly and Bruce looked at the arms outstretched towards him before nodding once. That’s all it took for Tony to scoop the boy up and hug him gently.

Bruce stilled for a minute before melting into Tony’s arms, burying his head between Tony’s neck and shoulder and clinging tightly as Tony maneuvered them out of the mess, all the while whispering comfort into the silently crying boy’s ear.

Steve let them cuddle on the couch, squeezing Tony’s shoulder and went to get a broom and clean up the mess, listening to Tony talk in hushed whispers about space, stars and planets to a slowly calming boy.

They didn’t have much of drama following that, except for a scare of stomach ache with baby Natasha, that made Tony tense and silent with the thought that it had been due to his cooking. Thankfully, it had been sorted out with the pediatrician sent in by Sue Richards, who was plenty amused by the situation and hilariously gave Tony a lollipop when she gave one to all the kids before leaving.

“You think they’ll get back to normal soon?” Steve asked that night, smiling softly at Pietro’s head wedged under his arm, the bed proving just right for the puppy pile Tony had given in to, “Or that we’ll manage right till they do?”

“I think we’ll manage,” Tony whispered back, breathing in the soft scent of a soundly sleeping Thor’s hair as it tickled his chin, under which the boy god was safely nestled, “I think we’ll manage just fine.”

Forty eight hours later, when they had grown up Avengers back to making a mess of the Tower, Steve shared a fondly exasperated look with Tony and remembered the time when they had managed just fine with the younger versions.

And they’d manage through the adults too the same way. Just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback please!


End file.
